JP2016133650A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a configuration in which a shutter of a developer container attached to a container holding part can be moved from a closed position to an open position through drive of a motor, and make it easy to manually return the shutter from the open state to the closed state.SOLUTION: When a shutter slider 213 is at a first standby position, a shutter is positioned at an open position. When the shutter slider 213 is at a second standby position, the shutter can be positioned at a closed position. A worm gear 208 can engage with an engaging pawl 209 provided on the shutter slider 213. The engaging pawl 209 transmits drive of the worm gear 208 to the shutter slider 213 while in drive connection with the worm gear 208. A release lever 211 moves the position of the engaging pawl 209 from a first position (engaging position) to a second position (engagement release position) to enable the shutter slider 213 to move from the first standby position to the second standby position through a manual operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile using toner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses that take out a replenishment developer from a developer container that is detachably attached to a container holding portion provided in an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus and replenish the developing apparatus are widely used. In such a configuration, Patent Document 1 discloses an image in which when a developer container is mounted on a container holding portion, the shutter of the developer container moves from the closed position to the open position so that replenishment developer can be supplied. A forming device is shown.

  In such a configuration, the image forming apparatus may be shipped with the developer container mounted on the apparatus main body (included). In this case, if the developer container is attached to the container holding portion and shipped with the shutter in the open position, the replenishment developer may leak out through the opening when the image forming apparatus is transported.

  Therefore, even if the image forming apparatus is shipped with a sealing member that seals the opening apart from the shutter of the developer container and the developer container is mounted, the replenishment developer does not leak around. The structure which was made is proposed (patent document 2). In the configuration described in Patent Document 2, the sealing member is removed when the image forming apparatus is installed and activated at the shipping destination.

JP 2005-284244 A JP 2005-189423 A

  Here, in a configuration in which the developer container is bundled with the apparatus main body and shipped, the developer may be replenished from the developer container to the developing device before shipment to perform operation and adjustment of the image forming apparatus. In this case, since the opening of the developer container is opened with the developer container mounted on the apparatus main body even before shipment, it is desirable to seal the opening again after adjustment. However, in the case of the configuration described in Patent Document 2, it is difficult to return the sealing member removed from the opening to the state of sealing the opening again.

  Therefore, a configuration that prevents leakage during transportation by manually moving the shutter that opens and closes when attached to and detached from the container holder provided in the developer container to the closed position at the time of shipment from the factory is considered. It is done. Further, with this configuration, it is possible to supply the replenishment developer by automatically moving the shutter from the closed position to the open position by a motor when the image forming apparatus is installed and activated at the shipping destination. It is done.

  However, in such a configuration, since the motor has a mechanism for moving the shutter from the closed position to the open position, it is difficult to manually move the shutter to the closed position at the time of shipment. That is, in this configuration, there is a mechanism for transmitting drive between the motor and the shutter, and this mechanism becomes a load when the shutter is manually moved to the closed position.

  The present invention has a configuration in which the shutter of the developer container mounted on the container holding portion can be moved from the closed position to the open position by driving a motor, and the shutter in the open position can be easily returned to the closed position manually. It is aimed.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention is movable to a replenishment developer accommodating portion, an opening from which the replenishment developer is taken out, a closed position for closing the opening, and an open position for opening the opening. A container holding unit that detachably holds a developer container having a shutter and a conveying unit that rotates and conveys the replenishment developer in the storage unit toward the opening; and is removed from the developer container. A developing device to which the replenishment developer is replenished, and a first standby in which the developer container is engaged with the shutter when the developer container is attached to the container holding portion, and the engaged shutter is positioned at the open position. A movable portion that is movable to a position and a second standby position that allows the shutter to be located at the closed position when the developer container is attached to the container holding portion; To move parts A motor, a driven unit driven by the motor, and a drive transmission unit provided so as to be drive-coupled to the driven unit and moving the moving unit by being driven by the driven unit. Is. The drive transmission unit is positioned at the first position when the moving unit is positioned at the first standby position, and is positioned at the second position when the moving unit is positioned at the second standby position. The drive transmission unit is configured to be able to move the drive transmission unit from the second position to the first position in a state where the drive connection between the drive transmission unit and the driven unit is disconnected. A holding member for holding the.

  According to the present invention, the holding member moves the drive transmission unit from the first position to the second position, so that the moving unit can move from the first standby position to the second standby position. For this reason, the shutter of the developer container mounted on the container holding portion can be moved from the closed position to the open position by driving the motor, and the shutter in the open position can easily be manually returned to the closed position.

1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a structure of a developing device. It is explanatory drawing of a structure of a developer container. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the shutter of the developer container. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a toner replenishing unit. It is explanatory drawing of the engagement state of a shutter and a shutter slider. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a toner replenishing unit during a replenishment operation of a replenishment developer. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a toner replenishing unit at the time of shipment of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a toner replenishing unit when a shutter reaches an open position. It is explanatory drawing of engagement cancellation | release of the worm gear by a cancellation | release lever. It is explanatory drawing of the operation | work which moves a shutter slider to a shipping position. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a toner replenishing unit during a replenishment operation of a replenishment developer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
(Image forming device)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1000 according to the first embodiment is a tandem type full-color printer in which image forming units Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd are arranged along an intermediate transfer belt 8.

  The image forming unit Pa forms a yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 a and transfers it to the intermediate transfer belt 8. The image forming unit Pb forms a magenta toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 b and transfers it to the intermediate transfer belt 8. The image forming units Pc and Pd form a cyan toner image and a black toner image on the photosensitive drums 1 c and 1 d and transfer them to the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  The four color toner images transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 8 are conveyed to the secondary transfer portion T2 and transferred onto the recording material P. The recording materials P are taken out one by one from the recording material cassette 71, separated one by one by the separating device 72, and wait on the registration roller 61. The registration roller 61 sends the recording material P to the secondary transfer portion T2 in time with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  The recording material P on which the four-color toner image has been transferred through the secondary transfer portion T2 is heated and pressed by the fixing device 19 to fix the toner image on the surface, and then is discharged by the discharge roller 32 to the discharge tray 31. Is discharged. On the other hand, the untransferred toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 8 after passing through the secondary transfer portion T2 is collected by the belt cleaning device 14.

(Image forming part)
The image forming Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd are configured the same except that the color of toner used in each of the developing devices 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d is different from yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. Therefore, in the following, the image forming unit Pa will be described, and a duplicate description regarding the other image forming units Pb, Pc, and Pd will be omitted.

  In the image forming section Pa, a charging device 2a, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4a, a transfer roller 5a, and a drum cleaning device 6a are arranged around the photosensitive drum 1a. The photosensitive drum 1a, the charging device 2a, the developing device 4a, and the drum cleaning device 6a constitute a process cartridge that can be detached and replaced integrally.

  The photosensitive drum 1a is composed of a metal cylinder having a photosensitive layer formed on the surface thereof, and rotates at a predetermined process speed. The charging device 2a rotates the charging roller driven on the photosensitive drum 1a and applies an oscillating voltage obtained by superimposing an AC voltage on the DC voltage to the charging roller to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 1a. The exposure device 3a scans, with a polyhedral mirror, a laser beam obtained by ON-OFF modulation of scanning line image data obtained by developing a yellow separated color image, and writes an electrostatic image of the image on the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 1a.

  The developing device 4a supplies toner to the photosensitive drum 1a to develop the electrostatic image into a toner image. The transfer roller 5 a contacts the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 8 to form a primary transfer portion T 1 between the photosensitive drum 1 a and the intermediate transfer belt 8. A power source (not shown) applies a DC voltage having a polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity to the transfer roller 5a, whereby the charged toner image of the intermediate transfer belt 8 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 passing through the primary transfer portion T1. The drum cleaning device 6a collects the transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1a by escaping from the transfer to the intermediate transfer belt 8 at the primary transfer portion T1.

(Developer)
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the developing device. Since the developing devices 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are configured in the same manner in the first embodiment, in the following, subscripts a, b, Explanation will be made excluding c and d.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the developing device 4, a developing sleeve 42 incorporating a magnet is rotatably disposed in the opening of the developing container 41. The developing container 41 is divided into a developing chamber 45 and a stirring chamber 46 by a partition wall 47, a developing screw 43 is disposed in the developing chamber 45, and a stirring screw 44 is disposed in the stirring chamber 46.

  The developing container 41 is filled with a two-component developer in which a toner having a negative charging polarity and a magnetic carrier having a positive charging polarity are mixed. The two-component developer is circulated and stirred in the direction of the arrow as the developing screw 43 and the agitating screw 44 rotate, whereby the toner is charged to a negative polarity and the carrier is charged to a positive polarity.

  The charged two-component developer is magnetically carried on the developing sleeve 42 and is conveyed to a portion facing the photosensitive drum 1 as the developing sleeve 42 rotates. A power source (not shown) applies an oscillating voltage obtained by superimposing an AC voltage to a negative DC voltage to the developing sleeve 42, so that only the negatively charged toner of the two-component developer carried on the developing sleeve 42 is photosensitive. Transfer to drum 1 to develop toner image.

  When the toner is taken out from the developing container 41 as the toner image is developed, a replenishing developer is supplied from the toner replenishing unit 102 to the developing container 41 through the toner replenishing pipe 103 so as to compensate for the toner. The replenishment developer contains 90% toner and 10% carrier by weight. With the replenishment of the replenishment developer, the excess two-component developer in the developing container 41 overflows and is collected from the discharge port 48.

  The control unit 110 controls the toner replenishment unit 102 so that the toner weight ratio (TD ratio) in the developer in the developing device 4 is maintained at a substantially constant value (8 to 10%). The amount of the replenishment developer supplied from the container 100 to the developing device 4 is adjusted.

(Developer container)
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the developer container. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the shutter of the developer container. In FIG. 4, (a) is during normal operation, (b) is before installation, and (c) is the shipping position.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the developer container 100, a rotating container 303 having a spiral groove formed in a rectangular parallelepiped non-rotating case 300 is rotatably arranged. The rotating container 303, which is an example of a storage unit, rotates to convey the replenishment developer toward the discharge port 300a, which is an example of an opening. The rotating container 303 is connected to the input coupling 302 and rotates integrally with the input coupling 302.

  The head unit 304 is connected to the rotating container 303 in the case 300 and is arranged in a non-rotating manner. The head unit 304 causes the replenishment developer delivered from the rotating container 303 to be discharged from the discharge port 300a as the rotating container 303 rotates. The input coupling 302 is engaged with the output coupling 205 and transmits the rotation to the rotating container 303 in the developer container 100.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a shutter 301 that can move in the rotation axis direction of the rotating container 303 is provided on the lower surface of the developer container 100. The shutter 301 closes the discharge port 300a by moving in the arrow E direction, and opens the discharge port 300a by moving in the arrow F direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the shutter 301 can be removed from the replenishment developer through the discharge port 300a by moving from the closed position to the open position. The shutter 301 has a locking portion 301a that is movable inward and has springiness. As shown in FIG. 4B, the developer container 100 before being attached to the toner replenishing unit 102 is replenished in the developer container 100 by closing the discharge port 300a when the shutter 301 is in the closed position. The developer is sealed.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, during normal operation, the shutter 301 stops at the open position in the developer container 100 before being mounted on the toner replenishing unit 102, and the discharge port 300 a of the developer container 100 and the shutter 301 are closed. The communication port 301b overlaps.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the shutter 301 is positioned at the end position in the direction of arrow E before the developer container 100 is mounted on the apparatus main body or when the developer container 100 is taken out from the apparatus main body. . At this time, since the shutter 301 closes the discharge port 300a, the replenishment developer in the developer container 100 does not leak outside. Even when the outside air is high humidity, the replenishment developer in the developer container 100 does not absorb moisture.

(First standby position)
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the toner supply unit. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the engagement state between the shutter and the shutter slider. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the toner replenishing unit during the replenishment operation of the replenishment developer. In FIG. 5, (a) is a state in which the developer container is not mounted, and (b) is a state in which the developer container is mounted. In FIG. 7, (a) is a perspective view of the main part seen from diagonally above, and (b) is a perspective view of the main part seen from diagonally below.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the shutter slider 213 can move in the directions of arrows E and F with respect to the mounting portion 101. As shown in FIG. 6, the shutter slider 213 moves integrally with the shutter 301 by engaging the engaging portion 301a of the shutter 301 with the shutter engaging portion 213a.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the developer container 100 is held in the mounting portion 101, and the developer container 100 is moved in the direction of arrow E, whereby the shutter 301 is locked as shown in FIG. The portion 301 a engages with the shutter engaging portion 213 a of the shutter slider 213. When the developer container 100 is attached to the mounting portion 101, the shutter slider 213 can move in the directions of arrows E and F together with the shutter 301.

  FIG. 7A shows the toner replenishing unit 102 during normal operation in which the shutter slider 213 is positioned at the first standby position. If the developer container 100 is mounted, the shutter 301 is moved to the open position as shown in FIG. Since the engaging claw 209 moves to the outside of the worm gear 208 and engages with the end portion of the worm gear 208, the slider 207 is kept in a stopped state. The shutter slider 213 is a first standby position that is limited in the opening direction by the slider 207 kept in a stopped state, but has some room for movement in the closing direction as described later.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the developer container 100 before being attached to the toner replenishing unit 102 is for replenishment in the developer container 100 by closing the discharge port 300a with the shutter 301 in the closed position. Developer is sealed. As shown in FIG. 5B, the developer container 100 is inserted in the direction of arrow E, and the developer container 100 is attached to the toner replenishing unit 102. As shown in FIG. 6, in the process of inserting the developer container 100, the shutter engaging portion 213a engages with the engaging portion 301a.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when the developer container 100 is mounted, when the developer container 100 is held by the mounting portion 101 and the developer container 100 is moved in the direction of arrow E, the shutter slider 213 is moved to the first position. At one standby position, the shutter 301 is pushed back in the direction of arrow F. As a result, the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 moves from the closed position to the open position shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7A with reference to FIG. 2, the developer container 100 is placed on the replenishment base 215 and pushed in the direction of arrow E on the replenishment base 215, whereby the bottle output gear 204 is obtained. Engages with the output coupling 205 to transmit the rotation.

  On the other hand, when the developer container 100 is removed, when the developer container 100 is held by the mounting portion 101 and the developer container 100 is moved in the arrow F direction, the shutter slider 213 moves the shutter 301 to the arrow at the first standby position. Pull in the E direction. As a result, the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 moves from the open position to the closed position shown in FIG. 4B, and then the shutter 301 and the shutter slider 213 are disengaged.

  As described above, the shutter slider 213, which is an example of a moving unit, can move integrally with the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 held by the supply base 215 in the moving direction of the shutter 301. When the shutter slider 213 is at the first standby position, the shutter 301 is positioned at the open position in accordance with the operation of moving the developer container 100 in the mounting direction. When the shutter slider 213 is stopped at the second standby position, the shutter 301 is allowed to be positioned at the closed position.

(Replenishment developer supply operation)
As shown in FIG. 7A with reference to FIG. 3, a replenishment base 215 that is an example of a container holding portion holds the developer container 100 in a detachable manner. An output coupling 205 which is an example of a rotating member rotates the rotating container 303. The motor 200 rotates in a predetermined direction to drive the output coupling 205.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the speed reducer 201 transmits the rotation of the motor 200 to the drive output gear 202. The speed reducer 201 supports the swing arm 206 in a swingable manner, and rotatably supports the output coupling 205 and the bottle output gear 204. The swing arm 206 is a lever member that can rotate around the rotation axis of the drive output gear 202. A swing gear 203 is rotatably attached to the tip of the swing arm 206. The swing arm 206 swings the swing gear 203 and switches between meshing / releasing of the swing gear 203 and the bottle output gear 204. When the drive output gear 202 rotates in the direction of arrow D, the swing arm 206 swings autonomously in the direction in which the swing gear 203 meshes with the bottle output gear 204, and the rotation of the bottle output gear 204 causes the output cup to rotate. It is transmitted to the ring 205. However, when the drive output gear 202 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow D direction, the swing gear 203 is autonomously separated from the bottle output gear 204 and the rotation of the bottle output gear 204 is not transmitted to the output coupling 205.

  In a normal state, the rotation of the motor 200 is transmitted to the output coupling 205 and the replenishment developer is taken out from the developer container 100. The rotation of the motor 200 is decelerated by the speed reducer 201 and output to the drive output gear 202. The rotation of the drive output gear 202 is transmitted from the swing gear 203 to the output coupling 205 via the bottle output gear 204.

  A swing engagement portion 206 a provided on the swing arm 206 rotates integrally with the swing arm 206. The swing restraining portion 207 a provided on the slider 207 engages with the swing engaging portion 206 a of the swing arm 206 and restricts swing of the swing arm 206. When the shutter 301 is in the open position, the swinging of the swinging arm 206 is not restricted because the engagement of the swinging engagement part 206a and the swinging restraining part 207a is released.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, in the state of normal operation, the engaging claw 209 of the slider 207 is disengaged from the worm gear 208. Therefore, even if the motor 200 rotates and the worm gear 208 rotates, the slider 207 Is kept stopped. In this state, when the motor 200 is rotated in the normal rotation direction, the output coupling 205 rotates in the direction of arrow C with the shutter 301 stopped at the open position, and replenishment is made from the discharge port 300a of the developer container 100. The developer is taken out. Since the motor 200 starts to rotate while the swing gear 203 and the bottle output gear 204 are engaged with each other, the rotation is transmitted from the beginning to the developer container 100 through the output coupling 205 and the replenishment developer is supplied to the developing device 4. Is done.

(At the time of shipment of the image forming apparatus)
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the toner replenishing unit at the time of shipment of the image forming apparatus. In FIG. 8, (a) is a perspective view of the main part seen from diagonally above, and (b) is a perspective view of the main part seen from diagonally below.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the first embodiment, after the image forming apparatus 1000 is assembled at the factory, the developer container 100 is mounted on the mounting portion 101 which is an example of the container holding portion, and the image forming apparatus 1000 is formed with an image. To do. Then, after making necessary adjustments, as shown in FIG. 4C, the shutter 301 is moved to the closed position by manual operation to return to the state at the time of shipment.

  In the first embodiment, the developer container 100 is assembled in the apparatus main body and shipped, so that the packaging size of the image forming apparatus 1000 at the time of shipment is reduced and the packaging material for the developer container is unnecessary. In addition, by shipping the replenishment developer that has been subjected to final adjustment, the state at the time of final adjustment can be accurately reproduced at the installation site. By moving the shutter 301 to the closed position, it is possible to prevent the toner from leaking out from the developer container 100 due to vibration during transportation or the toner in the developer container 100 from deteriorating in moisture absorption.

  At this time, it is confirmed that the shutter 301 is surely opened and closed as the developer container 100 is attached to and detached from the mounting portion 101, and it is confirmed that the replenishment developer is supplied to the developing device 4 without excess or deficiency. The image is confirmed to be output according to the standard.

  Further, as will be described later, it is confirmed that the shutter 301 is moved to the closed position by manual operation and the motor 200 is operated to move the shutter 301 to the open position. Thereafter, it is confirmed again that the shutter 301 is reliably opened and closed as the developer container 100 is attached to and detached from the mounting portion 101. By performing these tests and inspections, it is ensured that the mechanism for shipping the developer container 100 in the image forming apparatus 1000 is normally operated.

  FIG. 8A shows a state at the time of shipment of the image forming apparatus in which the shutter slider 213 is positioned at the second standby position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4C, the shutter 301 is in the closed position, and as shown in FIG. 8A, the engaging claw 209 is engaged with the intermediate position of the worm gear 208, and the slider 207 is engaged. The position of is locked. Therefore, when the motor 200 rotates and the worm gear 208 rotates, the slider 207 starts to move immediately, and the shutter slider 213 is moved from the second standby position to the first standby position.

  The developer container 100 can be attached to the toner replenishing portion 102 even in the state at the time of shipment. With the motor 200 stopped, the developer container 100 with the shutter 301 positioned at the closed position shown in FIG. 4B is placed on the supply base 215 and pushed toward the back. When the developer container 100 is inserted to a certain position, the engaging portion 301a of the shutter 301 is engaged with the shutter engaging portion 213a of the shutter slider 213 as shown in FIG.

  Further, when the developer container 100 is inserted toward the back, the shutter 301 moves in the arrow F direction with respect to the developer container 100, and the shutter 301 is moved to the closed position (shipment position) shown in FIG. Move to). Even when the shutter 301 is in the shipping position, the communication port 301b of the shutter 301 does not communicate with the toner discharge port 300a provided in the case 300, so that the developer container 100 is kept sealed. In this state, the replenishment developer is not discharged from the developer container 100 to the toner replenishment pipe 103 even when exposed to strong vibrations or a large inclination. Therefore, the image forming apparatus remains attached with the developer container 100. 1000 can be shipped.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the image forming apparatus 1000 is shipped, developer containers 100a, 100b, 100c, and 100d are attached to the apparatus main body. As shown in FIG. 8A, at the time of shipment, the motor 200 is stopped. The shutter slider 213 and the slider 207 are held in position by the sliding resistance of each part and the rotational resistance of the motor 200. Since the position of the shutter slider 213 is moved in the arrow E direction from the normal operation position shown in FIG. 7A, the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 is located at the shipping position.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, since the shutter slider fixing portion 213c rides on the slider stopping portion 215a and pushes the shutter slider locking portion 213b downward, the shutter slider pressing portion 207b becomes the shutter slider locking portion 213b. Is engaged.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the swing restraining portion 207 a of the slider 207 engages with the swing engaging portion 206 a of the swing arm 206, and the driving force of the motor 200 is transmitted to the output coupling 205. Is released. The engaging claw 209 of the slider 207 is pushed up by the claw urging portion 211 a (engagement moving portion) of the release lever 211 and is engaged with the worm gear 208.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, in the state immediately after the developer container 100 is mounted on the apparatus main body, the shutter 301 is positioned at the closed position slightly moved in the arrow E direction. As will be described later, the image forming apparatus 1000 is shipped in a state where the developer container 100 is mounted on the apparatus main body and the shutter 301 is positioned at the closed position (shipment position). Even at the shipping position, the shutter 301 still closes the discharge port 300a.

  In the state at the time of shipment, if the motor 200 rotates in the normal rotation direction and the worm gear 208 rotates, the slider 207 moves in the direction of arrow F while the output coupling 205 stops rotating. The shutter 301 reaches the open position. Then, after the shutter 301 reaches the open position, the output coupling 205 starts to rotate, and the replenishment developer is taken out from the developer container 100.

(Operation when power is turned on for the first time)
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the toner replenishing unit when the shutter 301 reaches the open position in advance while the shutter slider moves from the second standby position to the first standby position. In FIG. 9, (a) is a perspective view of the main part seen from diagonally above, and (b) is a perspective view of the main part seen from diagonally below.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the speed reducer 201 transmits the rotation of the motor 200 to the worm gear 208. A worm gear 208, which is an example of a driven part, converts the rotation of the motor 200 in a predetermined direction into a linear movement of an engaging claw 209, which is an example of a drive transmission part. The engaging claw 209 can be connected to the worm gear 208 by driving. The worm gear 208 can be engaged with an engaging claw 209 provided on the shutter slider 213. The engaging claw 209 transmits the driving of the worm gear 208 to the shutter slider 213 while being drivingly connected to the worm gear 208. The worm gear 208 is a feed screw that converts rotation of the motor 200 in a predetermined direction into movement of the shutter slider 213. The worm gear 208 is driven by the motor 200 to move the shutter slider 213 from the second standby position where the shutter 301 can be positioned to the closed position to the first standby position where the shutter 301 is opened. The slider 207 moves in the arrow F direction as the worm gear 208 rotates.

  As shown in FIG. 5A with reference to FIG. 4A, the discharge port 300 a of the developer container 100 faces the developer receiving port 102 a through the shutter 301. In this state, by rotating the motor 200 in a predetermined direction, the shutter slider 213 is moved in the direction of arrow F, and the shutter is moved from the closed position shown in FIG. 4C to the open position shown in FIG. 301 is moved.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the slider guide 214 guides the slider 207 so as to be slidable. The slider guide 214 supports the slider 207 and causes the slider 207 to contact the shutter slider fixing portion 213c. The shutter slider fixing portion 213c is pushed down by a slider restraining portion 215a provided on the lower surface of the supply base 215, thereby lowering the shutter slider locking portion 213b against the elasticity of the shutter slider elastic portion 213d. When the shutter slider fixing portion 213c moves to the outside in the arrow F direction from the slider restraining portion 215a, the shutter slider locking portion 213b is raised by the elasticity of the shutter slider elastic portion 213d, and the engagement with the slider 207 is released. The slider restraining portion 215e provided on the lower surface of the supply base 215 limits the movement of the shutter slider 213 in the direction of arrow F, and the shutter slider 213 when the developer container 100 is pulled out in the direction of arrow F on the supply base 215. Is positioned.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the image forming apparatus 1000 rotates the motor 200 of the toner replenishing unit 102 in a predetermined direction at the time of shipment, so that the image forming apparatus 1000 can perform the normal operation shown in FIG. Then, the developer container 100 can replenish the toner. By operating the motor 200 and moving the shutter slider 213 from the second standby position to the first standby position, the discharge port 300a and the communication port 301b of the shutter 301 communicate with each other as shown in FIG. Let

  When the motor 200 is driven at the first power-on, the drive is transmitted to the drive output gear 202 and the worm gear 208 by the speed reducer 201. When the driving force is transmitted to the worm gear 208, the slider 207 starts to move in the arrow F direction. However, at the initial stage, the swing restraining portion 207a is engaged with the swing engaging portion 206a to prevent the swing arm 206 from swinging, so that it is transmitted from the drive output gear 202 to the swing gear 203. The drive being transmitted is not transmitted to the bottle output gear 204. As a result, the replenishment developer in the developer container 100 is not conveyed and is not replenished to the developing device 4.

  When the power is turned on for the first time, the worm gear 208 rotates and the slider 207 starts moving. When the slider 207 starts moving, the shutter slider locking portion 213b engaged with the shutter slider pressing portion 207b is pressed, and the shutter slider 213 starts moving in the direction of arrow F together with the slider 207. However, when the movement is started, as shown in FIG. 4C, the discharge port 300a and the communication port 301b of the shutter 301 do not overlap with each other, so that the developer container 100 is kept sealed.

  As the shutter slider 213 moves, as shown in FIG. 4A, the discharge port 300a and the communication port 301b of the shutter 301 that has moved overlap and communicate with each other. At this timing, as shown in FIG. 8B, the shutter slider fixing portion 213c, which has been riding on the slider stopping portion 215a, moves away from the slider stopping portion 215a and moves upward. finish.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the shutter slider locking portion 213b provided in the shutter slider 213 releases the engagement between the slider 207 and the shutter slider 213 when the shutter 301 reaches the open position. The movement of 301 is stopped. When the shutter slider 213 moves and the shutter slider fixing portion 213c gets over the slider restraining portion 215a, the shutter slider locking portion 213b escapes upward and the engagement with the shutter slider pressing portion 207b is released. Thereby, as shown to (a) of FIG. 4, the movement of the shutter 301 stops in an open position.

  The stop position of the shutter slider 213 at this time is a normal position where the shutter slider 213 is located when the image forming apparatus 1000 is normally used. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 moves to the open position, and the replenishment developer can be replenished from the developer container 100.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, in the process in which the shutter slider 213 moves from the second standby position to the first standby position, the swing engagement portion 206a engages with the swing stop portion 207a. The swinging gear 203 is prevented from meshing with the bottle output gear 204. Even when the shutter slider fixing portion 213c is disengaged from the slider restraining portion 215a, the swing engagement portion 206a is kept engaged with the swing restraining portion 207a.

  For this reason, the rotation of the motor 200 is not transmitted to the output coupling 205, and the discharging force for the replenishment developer in the developer container 100 does not work.

  However, if the driving is further continued, the movement of the slider 207 releases the engagement of the swing restraining portion 207a and the swing engaging portion 206a, and the swing arm 206 can swing. Then, by the driving force transmitted from the drive output gear 202 to the swing gear 203, the swing arm 206 swings, the swing gear 203 meshes with the bottle output gear 204, and the rotation transmission to the developer container 100 is transmitted. Be started. As shown in FIG. 4A, at this time, since the discharge port 300a and the communication port 301b of the shutter 301 are already in communication, toner can be supplied from the developer container 100.

  Thus, the operation of positioning the shutter 301 at the open position is completed, and the motor 200 is operated, so that the developer for replenishment from the developer container 100 to the developing device 4 can be supplied. Thereafter, by continuing to transmit the rotation to the developer container 100, the engagement between the worm gear 208 and the engagement claw 209 is released, and the drive to the slider 207 is released.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when the engaging claw 209 is sent to the end of the worm gear 208 and is disengaged from the worm gear 208, the slider 207 stops. At a position immediately before the slider 207 stops, the swing restraining portion 207a of the slider 207 is disengaged from the swing engaging portion 206a which is an example of the swing engaging portion of the swing arm 206 which is an example of the swing member. The moving arm 206 can swing freely. The swing arm 206 swings autonomously to engage the swing gear 203 with the bottle output gear 204, and the output coupling 205 starts to rotate. As a result, the rotation is transmitted to the developer container 100 and the replenishment developer is conveyed in the developer container 100.

  In the first embodiment, drive transmission to the developer container 100 is started after the discharge port 300a and the communication port 301b of the shutter 301 communicate with each other. Therefore, it is difficult for toner to scatter from the developer container 100 during the operation of moving the shutter 301 from the shipping position to the open position.

  As described above, the drive output gear 202, which is an example of the first gear, is provided on the output shaft of the speed reducer 201, which is an example of a shaft. The swing gear 203 that is a part of the rotation transmission mechanism transmits the rotation of the motor 200 in a predetermined direction to the output coupling 205 in a state where the shutter slider 213 is at the first standby position. When the shutter slider 213 is positioned between the second standby position and the first standby position and does not include the first standby position, the swing engagement portion 206a is engaged with a part of the shutter slider 213. doing. Accordingly, the swing gear 203 that is an example of the second gear is held at a position that does not mesh with the output gear 204 that is an example of the third gear. When the shutter slider 213 is located at the first standby position, the engagement between the swing engagement portion 206a and a part of the shutter slider 213 is released, so that the swing gear 203 moves to a position where it engages with the output gear 204. doing.

(Return to the factory settings)
FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of disengagement of the worm gear by the release lever. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of moving the shutter slider to the shipping position. 10 and 11, (a) is a perspective view of a main part viewed from diagonally above, and (b) is a perspective view of the main part viewed from diagonally below.

  When the developer container 100 is mounted and image formation is performed, the shutter slider 213 is stopped at the first standby position shown in FIG. After the trial operation, in order to ship the image forming apparatus 1000, it is necessary to return the shutter slider 213 to the second standby position as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, in the image forming apparatus 1000 at the time of shipment, the engagement between the shutter engaging portion 301a and the shutter engaging portion 213a of the shutter 301 is not released, and as shown in FIG. In this state, the engaging claw 209 is biased toward the worm gear 208 side.

  However, as shown in FIG. 7A, the engaging claws 209 are disengaged from the worm gear 208 during normal operation. For this reason, even if the worm gear 208 is reversely rotated, as shown in FIG. 8A, the worm gear 208 cannot be returned to the “shipping position” where the engagement claw 209 is engaged. Further, since the engaging claw 209 abuts against the end portion of the worm gear 208, the slider 207 cannot be manually moved to the position shown in FIG.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a release lever 211 is provided for each developer container 100 (ad) so that the shutter 301 can be easily moved to the closed position by manual operation. .

  As shown in FIG. 10A, the operator rotates the release lever 211 in the direction of arrow U to move the claw urging portion 211 a away from the slider 207, so that the engaging claw of the slider 207 is engaged. 209 and the worm gear 208 are disengaged. When the release lever 211 is moved in the direction of the arrow U, the support of the claw urging portion 211 a is lost and the engagement claw 209 sinks to a position lower than the upper surface of the slider 207, so Will not interfere with the movement of By rotating the release lever 211 in the direction of the arrow U, the state where the engagement claw 209 is urged by the worm gear 208 is released. As a result, the slider 207 can move in the direction of arrow E along the worm gear 208.

  The operator moves the slider 207 in the direction of arrow E in a state where the engagement between the swing gear 203 and the bottle output gear 204 is released by pressing the swing engagement portion 206a, and the swing engagement portion 207a is swing-engaged. Re-engage part 206a. Then, the operator manually moves the slider 207 to the “shipping position” shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, in the process of moving the slider 207 in the direction of arrow E, the shutter slider fixing portion 213c is mounted on the slider restraining portion 215a, and the shutter slider 213 is positioned at the “shipping position”. The operator rotates the release lever 211 in the L direction, pushes up the engaging claw 209 by the claw urging portion 211a, and again engages the engaging claw 209 with the worm gear 208 as shown in FIG. Combine. As described above, the image forming apparatus 1000 is returned to the state at the time of shipment again.

  After the shutter slider 213 is moved to the normal position, the shutter 301 autonomously moves to the closed position shown in FIG. 4B as the developer container 100 is extracted. Therefore, the replenishment developer does not leak from the developer container 100 when the developer container 100 is replaced during normal use or when the developer container 100 is removed. According to the configuration using the release lever 211, the normal opening / closing operation of the shutter 301 is not affected, and good operability of the developer container 100 can be maintained.

  As described above, the release lever 211, which is an example of the holding member shown in FIG. 7A, moves the position of the engaging claw 209 from the first position to the second position, so that the shutter slider 213 is It is possible to move from the first standby position to the second standby position by manual operation. The release lever 211, which is an example of a holding member, is manually operated to engage the engagement claw 209 so that the engagement claw 209 can be moved from the second position to the first position in a state where the drive connection between the engagement claw 209 and the worm gear 208 is disconnected. 209 can be held.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the release lever 211 moves the position of the engaging claw 209 from the first position (engagement position) to the second position (engagement release position), so that the shutter slider 213 is moved. Can be moved manually from the first standby position to the second standby position. The release lever 211 holds the engagement claw 209 so that the engagement claw 209 can be moved from the second position to the first position in a state where the driving connection between the engagement claw 209 and the worm gear 208 is disconnected. The release lever 211 is manually operated. The worm gear 208 is driven by the motor 200 so that when the shutter slider 213 moves from the second standby position to the first standby position, the engagement with the engagement claw 209 held at the first position is released. The length is formed.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Comparative Example 1, as shown in Patent Document 1, a shutter provided so as to be movable in the insertion direction of the developer container moves from the closed position to the open position in accordance with the insertion of the developer container. Along with the extraction, it moves from the open position to the closed position. In the configuration of Comparative Example 1, the shutter is always in the open position when the developer container is mounted on the toner supply unit. For this reason, when the image forming apparatus is shipped with the developer container mounted on the toner replenishing unit, the replenishment developer leaks from the developer container to the toner replenishing unit due to vibration during transportation, and the toner replenishing unit and the developing device This causes excessive supply developer and toner scattering. For this reason, in Comparative Example 1, the image forming apparatus cannot be shipped with the developer container mounted on the toner replenishing portion.

  On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the shutter of the developer container attached to the toner supply unit is moved to the closed position before shipment. For this reason, even if the image forming apparatus 1000 is exposed to strong vibration during transportation accompanying shipment, the replenishment developer flows into the developing device or the toner replenishment unit 102 or the replenishment developer is scattered from the developer container 100. There is nothing to do.

(Comparative Example 2)
In Comparative Example 2, as shown in Patent Document 2, a seal-like sealing member that can be pulled out while the developer container is mounted on the toner replenishment unit is provided in the toner replenishment unit independently of the shutter of the developer container. Provided. After the image forming apparatus is shipped while the developer container is mounted on the toner replenishing unit, the operator pulls out the sealing member at the loading destination of the image forming apparatus, so that the developer can be supplied from the developer container to the toner replenishing unit. In the configuration of Comparative Example 2, even when the image forming apparatus is shipped with the developer container mounted on the toner replenishing portion and vibrations are applied during transportation, the toner replenishing portion or the developing device may have excessive replenishment developer. There is no toner scattering. However, it is difficult to return the seal-like sealing member to the original sealing state when the developer container is attached and the test operation is performed after the assembly of the image forming apparatus is completed. In addition, since the sealing member other than the shutter is provided at the connecting portion between the developer container and the toner replenishing portion, the structure becomes complicated and the possibility of toner leakage increases.

(Comparative Example 3)
In Comparative Example 3, instead of providing the release lever 211 in the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7A, the worm gear 208 is rotated by the motor 200 in the direction opposite to the normal direction to move the shutter 301 to the closed position. Adopt a configuration to return. In this case, when the shutter 301 is moved to the open position and the engagement between the swing restraining portion 207a and the swing engaging portion 206a is released and the output coupling 205 starts to rotate, the worm gear 208 is driven to rotate the motor 200. An electromagnetic clutch is required to disconnect from the motor. Then, after assembling, the developer container 100 is mounted and a test operation is performed. Then, the electromagnetic clutch is engaged, the motor 200 is rotated in the opposite direction to the normal direction, and the electromagnetic wave is moved at the timing when the shutter 301 is moved to the “shipping position”. Electrical control for releasing the clutch engagement is required.

  In Comparative Example 3, a sensor and control for positioning the shutter slider 213 at the “shipping position” are required. In addition, the addition of the electromagnetic clutch makes the mechanism more complicated than in the first embodiment.

  In contrast, in the first embodiment, the shutter 200 is opened by rotating the motor 200 in the normal rotation direction. For this reason, it is not necessary to return the engaging claws 209 to the shipping position by the operation of reversing the worm gear 208. Therefore, a drive mechanism that rotates the worm gear 208 that drives the shutter 301 in a direction opposite to the normal direction, and a mechanism, sensor, and control for stopping the movement of the shutter 301 when the shutter 301 returns to the shipping position are ineffective. is necessary. In the first embodiment, when the shutter 301 is in the open position, even if the motor 200 is rotated in the opposite direction to the normal rotation direction and the worm gear 208 is rotated in the opposite direction, the engaging claw 209 is engaged with the worm gear 208. There is no matching. For this reason, even if the motor 200 is rotated in the direction opposite to the normal rotation direction, the shutter 301 cannot be moved to the closed position (shipping position).

(Comparative Example 4)
In Comparative Example 4, the worm gear 208 or the slider 207 is configured to be detachable from the toner replenishing unit 102 instead of providing the release lever 211 in the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the state of FIG. 7A, one or more parts that prevent the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 from moving in the direction of arrow E can be easily removed from the mechanism of the toner replenishing unit 102 and reassembled. It can be so.

  In Comparative Example 4, it is necessary to reassemble the toner supply unit 102 after the trial operation. Further, since it is necessary to remove the developer container 100 during the assembling operation, it becomes impossible to check the operation with the developer container 100 shipped to the toner replenishing unit 102 attached.

  On the other hand, in Embodiment 1, it is not necessary to reassemble the toner replenishing unit 102 after the trial operation. An operation check with the developer container 100 shipped to the toner replenishing unit 102 attached can be easily executed. In the first embodiment, the release of the biasing of the engagement claw 209 toward the worm gear 208 of the engagement claw 209 by the release lever 211 can be executed by a manual operation. For this reason, it is not necessary to once remove the peripheral parts of the engaging claw 209 and the slider 207 or the peripheral parts of the worm gear 208 in order to release the urging force of the engaging claw 209 and reassemble the parts at the shipping state.

(Effect of Embodiment 1)
In the first embodiment, a configuration is realized in which a drive connection can be easily released by a manual operation in a drive portion that moves the shutter 301 of the developer container 100. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1000 can be shipped with the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 positioned at the closed position and the developer container 100 mounted on the toner replenishing unit 102. Even when the developer container 100 is mounted on the toner replenishing unit 102 in a factory or the like and the shutter 301 is moved to the open position and a test operation is performed, the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 can be easily returned to the shipping position. Become.

  In the first embodiment, since a configuration that is used only in rare occasions such as when the image forming apparatus 1000 is shipped or transferred, it is not necessary to provide a new mechanism, motor, sensor, control program, or the like. Cost is realized.

  In the first embodiment, the release lever 211 is a mechanism capable of switching between engagement and disengagement of the engagement claw 209 with respect to the worm gear 208 by manual operation. The release lever 211 can recover the engagement between the disengaged worm gear 208 and the engagement claw 209 by manual operation. The engagement between the engagement claw 209 and the worm gear 208 can be released by a simple manual operation using the release lever 211. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 1000 can be returned to the shipping state without removing the parts from the toner replenishing unit 102. Even when the member that locks the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 is moved once by the main body in a factory or the like, the member that locks the shutter 301 of the developer container 100 can be easily returned to the shipping state.

  In the first embodiment, when the motor 200 is rotated in a predetermined direction at the first activation, the shutter 301 moves from the closed position to the open position and stops, and then the input coupling 302 starts to rotate and moves into the developer container. The replenishment developer is conveyed toward the opening. Therefore, the replenishment developer is not unnecessarily taken out from the developer container 100 before the image formation is started.

  In the first embodiment, since the shutter 301 is separated from the rotational driving of the motor 200 at the first activation, the supply of the developer for replenishment by the developer container 100 from the beginning is not performed at the second and subsequent activations without moving the shutter 301. Supply is started. Therefore, the replenishment developer can be quickly replenished to reduce the replenishment waiting time of the replenishment developer.

  In the first embodiment, there is no need to rotate the motor 200 in the reverse direction in order to move the shutter to the shipping position. Therefore, the reverse rotation of the motor 200 can be directed to other uses (for example, opening / closing of a door, vibration of a developer container, warning buzzer, etc.).

  In the first embodiment, the worm gear 208 converts the rotation of the motor 200 in a predetermined direction into the movement of the shutter slider 213 and moves the shutter slider 213 from the second standby position to the first standby position. Therefore, it is not necessary to manually open the shutter 301 when the image forming apparatus 1000 is first started up at the shipping destination.

  In the first embodiment, the shutter slider 213 can be moved manually from the first standby position to the second standby position while the motor 200 is stopped. Therefore, a motor mechanism for moving the shutter slider 213 from the first standby position to the second standby position is unnecessary.

<Embodiment 2>
As shown in FIG. 7A, in the first embodiment, the slider 207 is moved in the directions of arrows E and F using the worm gear 208 and the engaging claws 209. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the slider 207 is moved in the directions of arrows E and F using a rack 219 and a clutch gear 217 as shown in FIG. Except for the configuration related to the rack 219 and the clutch 218 in the second embodiment, the configuration is the same as that in the first embodiment. Therefore, in FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. A duplicate description will be omitted.

(Toner supply part)
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the toner replenishing unit during the replenishment operation of the replenishment developer. In FIG. 12, (a) is a perspective view of the main part viewed from diagonally above, and (b) is a perspective view of the main part viewed from diagonally below.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, in the second embodiment, a worm gear 208, a clutch gear 216, a clutch gear 217, and a rack 219 are provided to move the slider 207 in the directions of arrows E and F. In addition, a clutch 218 is provided to release the engagement between the clutch gear 217 and the rack 219 so that the slider 207 can move in the directions of arrows E and F.

  The reducer 201 reduces the rotation of the motor 200 and transmits it to the worm gear 208. The clutch gear 216 is attached so as to mesh with the worm gear 208. The clutch gear 217 is attached at a position where it can engage with the rack 219. The clutch gear 217 meshes with the rack 219 and rotates to move the slider 207 provided with the rack 219 in the direction of arrow F. The clutch 218 can switch between transmission and release of rotational drive between the clutch gear 216 and the clutch gear 217.

  The clutch 218 can be rotated integrally by engaging the clutch gear 216 and the clutch gear 217 by manually rotating and tightening the screw 218a. The clutch 218 can release the engagement between the clutch gear 216 and the clutch gear 217 by rotating the screw 218a manually to loosen the relative rotation between the clutch gear 216 and the clutch gear 217.

  The normal operation state shown in FIG. 12 (a) corresponds to the normal operation state shown in FIG. 7 (a), and the rack 219 is disengaged from the clutch gear 217, and the clutch The gear 217 is idling. When the motor 200 rotates in the normal rotation direction during the normal operation, the rotation of the drive output gear 202 is transmitted from the swing gear 203 to the bottle output gear 204, and the output coupling 205 starts to rotate. Thus, with the slider 207 stopped, the rotation is transmitted to the developer container 100, the replenishment developer is conveyed in the developer container 100, and the replenishment developer is replenished to the toner replenishment unit 102.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, in the first embodiment, the driving force of the worm gear 208 is transmitted to the slider 207 via the engagement claw 209, and the slider 207 is moved. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the driving force of the worm gear 208 is transmitted from the clutch gear 217 to the rack 219 via the clutch gear 216, and the slider 207 moves. Therefore, in the second embodiment, in order to set the state at the time of shipment, the slider 207 is moved in the direction of arrow E from the state shown in FIG. 12A, and the clutch gear 217 is engaged with the rack 219. It is necessary to

  In the state at the time of shipment, the clutch 218 connects the driving of the clutch gear 216 and the clutch gear 217. When the motor 200 rotates in the normal rotation direction at the time of shipment, the driving force is transmitted from the worm gear 208 to the rack 219 via the clutch gear 216, the clutch 218, and the clutch gear 217, and the slider 207 starts to move. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the shutter 301 reaches the open position and the discharge port 300a and the communication port 301b communicate with each other, the teeth of the rack 219 disappear and the clutch gear 217 idles. The slider 207 stops. When the shutter 301 reaches the open position and the engagement between the clutch gear 217 and the rack 219 is released, the slider 207 stops.

(Return to the factory settings)
In order to set the image forming apparatus 1000 to the state at the time of shipment, the slider 207 is moved manually in the direction of arrow E from the normal operation state shown in FIG. It is necessary to move to (shipping position). At this time, the clutch gear 217 interferes with the rack 219 and prevents the slider 207 from moving.

  Therefore, the operator manually operates the clutch 218 to release the drive connection between the clutch gear 216 and the clutch gear 217 so that the clutch gear 217 can rotate. As a result, the slider 207 can be moved while rotating the clutch gear 217. The operator manually moves the slider 207 in the direction of arrow E to place the shutter 301 in the closed position (shipping position).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the rack 219 as an example of the drive transmission unit is provided on the shutter slider 213. The rack 219 is disengaged from the clutch gear 217 when the shutter slider 213 moves to the first standby position, so that the shutter slider 213 does not move any further even if the clutch gear 217 is driven to rotate by the motor 200. Length. A clutch gear 217, which is an example of a driven portion, is a pinion that is driven by the motor 200 while being engaged with the rack 219 and moves the shutter slider 213 from the second standby position to the first standby position.

  A clutch 218, which is an example of a clutch mechanism, can be disengaged by driving between a motor 200, which is an example of a motor side, and a clutch gear 217 by being manually operated. The clutch 218 is a manual clutch capable of disconnecting and connecting the drive transmission between the clutch gear 217 and the motor 200.

  According to the second embodiment, even when the developer container 100 is mounted on the toner replenishing unit 102 and the shutter 301 is moved to the open position in a factory or the like, the shutter 301 and the slider 207 of the developer container 100 are simply shipped. It is possible to return to the state.

<Other embodiments>
As long as the image forming apparatus of the present invention can be shipped with the developer container mounted on the apparatus main body by moving the shutter from the open position to the closed position, a part or all of the configuration of the embodiment is provided. Other embodiments replaced with that alternative configuration can also be implemented.

  The first standby position and the second standby position may be a predetermined point with no room for movement or a predetermined range with room for movement. The opening position of the shutter 301 is a predetermined point with no room for movement by design, but the closing position may be a predetermined range with room for movement.

  In the first embodiment, the shutter slider elastic portion 213d is disposed at the base of the shutter slider fixing portion 213c, so that a restoring force always works when the shutter slider fixing portion 213c rides on the slider restraining portion 215a. However, the same effect can be obtained even when a separate elastic member is provided separately from the shutter slider 213 and the shutter slider fixing portion 213c is urged.

  In the first embodiment, the drive source for transmitting rotation to the developer container 100 and the drive source for moving the shutter slider 213 are the same. However, the present invention can be implemented even when separate drive sources are used.

1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Photosensitive drums 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d Charging devices 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d Exposure devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d Developing devices 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d Primary transfer rollers 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d Drum cleaning device 8 Intermediate transfer belt, 14 Belt cleaning device 19 Fixing device, 31 Discharge tray, 32 Discharge roller 41 Developing container, 42 Developing sleeve, 43, 44 Conveying screw 45 Developing chamber, 46 Agitation chamber, 47 Septum 71 Recording material cassette, 72 Separating device 100 Developer container, 102 Toner supply unit, 103 Toner supply pipe 110 Control unit, 200 Motor, 201 Reducer, 202 Drive output gear 203 Swing gear, 204 Output gear, 205 Output coupling 206 Swing arm, 206a Swing engagement part, 207 Slider 207a Motion stopping portion, 207b Shutter slider pressing portion 208 Worm gear, 209 Engaging claw, 211 Release lever 211a Claw biasing portion, 213 Shutter slider, 213a Shutter engaging portion 213b Shutter slider locking portion, 213c Shutter slider fixing portion 213d Shutter slider Elastic part, 214 Slider guide 215 Supply base, 215a Slider stop part, 300 Case 300a Discharge port, 301 Shutter, 301a Shutter locking part 301b Communication port, 302 Input coupling, 303
216 Clutch gear 217 Clutch gear, 218 Clutch, 219 Rack 1000 Image forming apparatus P Recording material, Pa, Pb, Pc, Pd Image forming unit, T2 Secondary transfer unit

Claims (11)

A replenishment developer accommodating portion, an opening through which the replenishment developer is taken out, a closed position that closes the opening, and an open position that opens the opening. A container holding unit that removably holds a developer container, and a transport unit that transports the developer for replenishment toward the opening.
A developing device for replenishing the replenishment developer removed from the developer container;
A first standby position where the developer container is engaged with the shutter when the developer container is attached to the container holding portion, and the engaged shutter is positioned at the open position; and the developer with respect to the container holding portion A second standby position that allows the shutter to be positioned in the closed position when a container is mounted;
A motor for moving the moving part;
A driven part driven by the motor;
A drive transmission unit that is provided so as to be drive-coupled to the driven unit, and that moves the moving unit in response to driving of the driven unit;
The drive transmission unit is positioned at the first position when the moving unit is positioned at the first standby position, and is positioned at the second position when the moving unit is positioned at the second standby position. Provided in
A holding member that holds the drive transmission unit so that the drive transmission unit can be moved from the second position to the first position in a state where the drive connection between the drive transmission unit and the driven unit is disconnected. An image forming apparatus comprising the image forming apparatus.   The drive transmission portion is engaged with the driven portion by the holding member holding the drive transmission portion at the first position when the moving portion is at the second standby position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The drive transmission unit includes the first position that engages with the driven part when the moving part is in the second standby position, and the driven part when the moving part is in the second standby position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is movable to the second position where the engagement with the drive unit is released.   When the moving unit is driven by the motor and moved from the second standby position to the first standby position, the engagement with the drive transmission unit held at the first position by the holding member is released. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driven portion is formed. The driven part is a feed screw that is rotationally driven by the motor;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive transmission unit is an engaging claw that engages with the feed screw.   The feed screw has such a length that the engagement with the engagement claw at the first position is disengaged when the moving portion is at the first standby position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is a manually operated member. The replenishment developer containing portion, the opening from which the replenishment developer is taken out, and the replenishment developer through the opening by moving from the closed position for closing the opening to the opening position for opening the opening. A container holding section that removably holds a developer container, the shutter that enables removal, and a transport unit that rotates and transports the replenishment developer in the housing section toward the opening;
A developing device for replenishing the replenishment developer removed from the developer container;
A first standby position where the shutter engages with the shutter when the developer container is mounted on the container holding portion, and the engaged shutter is positioned at the open position; and the shutter can be positioned at the closed position. A second standby position, and a movable part that can move to each of the second standby positions;
A motor for moving the moving part;
A driven part driven by the motor;
A drive transmission unit that is drivingly connected to the driven unit and transmits the drive of the driven unit to the moving unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a clutch mechanism that is provided in the driven portion and is capable of releasing engagement related to driving between the motor side and the driven portion.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the clutch mechanism is a manually operated mechanism. A rotating member capable of transmitting rotation to the conveying means of the developer container held by the container holding unit;
While the moving unit moves from the second standby position to the first standby position, the rotation of the motor is not transmitted to the rotating member, and the moving unit is in the first standby position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotation transmission mechanism that transmits rotation of the motor to the rotation member. The rotation transmission mechanism is
A shaft driven by the motor;
A swinging member swingable about the axis;
A first gear that rotates with the shaft;
A second gear that is rotatably provided on the rocking member and meshes with the first gear;
A third gear provided on the rotating member,
The swinging member is engaged with a part of the moving unit when the moving unit is located at a position not including the first standby position between the second standby position and the first standby position. By combining, the second gear is held at a position where it does not mesh with the third gear, and when the moving part is located at the first standby position, engagement with a part of the moving part is performed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a rocking engagement portion that allows the second gear to mesh with the third gear by being released.

Images